The music on this CD is from a period when arranger Quincy Jones was a major part of the jazz world, rather than being content just to take bows for it. Six high-quality selections from a 1956 album offer logical, swinging, and often distinct arrangements with plenty of solos from the all-star cast (which includes Lucky Thompson on tenor, altoist Phil Woods, and trumpeter Art Farmer); highlights include "Stockholm Sweetnin',""Walkin'," and "Sermonette." The remainder of the CD reissues two-thirds of a slightly odd collection led and produced (but not arranged) by Jones. Originally titled Go West, Man, the LP was designed to show off the talents of West Coast arrangers Jimmy Giuffre, Lennie Niehaus, and Charlie Mariano. Three selections feature an alto summit with Benny Carter, Art Pepper, Herb Geller, and Charlie Mariano, and there are also some numbers with a sax section; three songs with a trumpet section had to be left out due to lack of space. Although these performances are enjoyable, it is the Quincy Jones charts that are most memorable, making one regret his decision in the early '70s to leave jazz altogether. - Scott Yanow
Tracks
01. Walkin’ (Carpenter)
02. Stockholm Sweetnin’ (Jones)
03. Evening In Paris (Jones)
04. Sermonette (Adderley)
05. A Sleepin’ Bee (Arlen, Capote)
06. Boo’s Blues (Jones)
07. Dancin’ Pants (Giuffre)
08. Be My Guest (Neihaus)
09. Kings Road Blues (Neihaus)
10. Bright Moon (Giuffre)
11. The Oom Is Blues (Mariano)
12. Ballad Medley: What’s New (Haggart, Burke) -We’ll Be Together Again-Time On My Hands (Youmans, Adamson, Gordon)-Laura (Raskin)
ART FARMER trumpet
URBIE GREEN trombone
PHIL WOODS alto saxophone
LUCKY THOMPSON tenor saxophone
JACK NIMITZ baritone saxophone
JEROME RICHARDSON flute, tenor saxophone
HANK JONES piano
PAUL CHAMBERS bass
CHARLI PERSIP drums
HERBIE MANN flute
CHARLES MINGUS bass
GENE QUILL alto saxophone
ZOOT SIMS tenor saxophone
MILT JACKSON vibes
JIMMY CLEVELAND trombone
BILLY TAYLOR piano
CHARLIE MARIANO alto saxophone
LOU LEVY piano
RED MITCHELL bass
SHELLY MANNE drums
ART PEPPER alto saxophone
CARL PERKINS piano
BENNY CARTER alto saxophone
PEPPER ADAMS baritone saxophone
BILL PERKINS tenor saxophone
…and others
Recorded in New York on September 1956 (1-6) and Los Angeles February 1957 (7-12)
#1-6 were originally issued as "This Is How I Feel About Jazz (ABC Paramount 149) and #7-12 were originally issued as part of "Go West, Man" (ABC Paramount 186)
Impulse/MCA & GRP Records GRD - 115